Marketing resumes

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Learn some of the creative ways a marketing professional can customize their resume, just how creative you can get and various ways to include a marketing portfolio to showcase your work. Stacey Gordon, HR professional and resume expert, will show you just how it's done when it comes to creating a marketing resume.

- Of all the industries, the marketing industryis one where you would expect to findthe most creativity and originality within a resume,but unfortunately your marketing resumehas to use the same job application processas someone applying for an accounting position.Therefore, it will have to follow the same rules.Your first impulse may be to makeyour resume different and stand out from the crowd,but don't go overboard.Remember QR codes?They were all the rage.They became extremely popular to the point ofover-saturation, but they weren't being used correctly.

The mainstream market didn't really know what they wereand most people didn't have a QR code reader.If you're in marketing, you know what a QR code is,but just in case, the QR in QR codestands for Quick Response.QR codes are those black and whitepixelated boxes you'll sometimes seeon marketing materials that look like this.They're an alternative to a bar codebecause they can hold a lot of information.Extracting that information is donewith a QR reader which is a type of scanning device,and with so many advances in technology,many people have a QR code reader on their smartphone,or at least they have access to one they can download.

You might see that some peoplehave them on their business cardsbecause they can use that codeto direct people to additional contact information,a website, a resume, the sky is the limit.But specifically for your resume,adding a QR code would allow you to point someoneto additional information about you.If you're in an area of marketingwhere your expert use of a QR codewill make you stand out, by all means do it,but if you haven't used a QR code before,your resume should not be the place to start.

So what about infographics?They're a marketing professional's dream.Going with the premise that a picture speaks 1,000 words,wouldn't the use of an infographicbe an excellent way to showcase your skills?Unfortunately studies show that hiring managersfind infographic resumes to be pretty terrible.They're confusing, hard to follow,and generally just considered to be overkill.Don't try this hard.Stay away from the infographic resumethat takes the visuals too far.

With that being said, your resume is your ad.If you're in marketing, you do need to showcaseyour ability to create and sell yourself.So here are a few ways to showjust what you're capable of.Create a portfolio.As a reputable marketing professional,you should already have a marketing portfolio,so you simply need to decidewhat among your portfolio is applicableto the job you want.You can use a personal website to createcustomized pages for each company you apply to,and then include that link within your resumeand point them towards your work.

Create a personalized website which includesa visually appealing version of your resume,and this can be included with or without a portfolio page,but I recommend including a link to your standard resume.You also need to remember that marketingisn't just about creativity,it's about results.You can create a wonderful adbut if nobody ever views it,you would not have been successful.So keep track of your click-through rates,your increase in social media followers,increased engagement, metrics aroundtime spent viewing ads,SEO improvements, et cetera.

If you're employed in a marketing roleand you haven't been keeping trackof your personal stats and successes,please start immediately.There is nothing worse than beingunexpectedly laid off and realizingthat you no longer have access to the metricsyou thought you would have time to capture.It's important for me to say a wordabout privacy and confidentiality.Don't include anything in your portfoliothat isn't publicly available.Don't include client namesand don't use specific numbers.

Instead, you can use comparative results,percent increases, and other creative waysto provide the detail a prospective employer will needwithout divulging company secrets.As a marketing professional,how you use your creativity to showcase your workis the first glimpse a prospective employerwill get of how you potentially might useyour creativity to showcase their work if hired.Rise to the challenge and you toocan provide that great blend ofcorporate professionalism and creativity.

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Finding a great job starts with writing a great resume, one that speaks to your personal and professional strengths. Learn how to write a resume that stands out and makes employers take notice.

Stacey A. Gordon, cofounder of Career Incubator, has made it her life's work to help others find the jobs and build the careers of their dreams. In this course, she walks through the basics of resume writing for job seekers, as well as a few extra job search basics such as following up, sending thank-you notes, and identifying companies to work for and determining fit.

Stacey explains what you should include on your resume, what to exclude, and how to craft your resume to showcase your talents and best qualities. Using practical resume examples, Stacey walks through choosing the right resume format, tailoring the information to match job requirements, and writing alternative resumes that include industry-specific information. Last, Stacey shows you how to deal with some common sore spots—like job hopping, lack of experience, or large unemployment gaps—while concentrating on your experience.